Airport West up for the fight as it hangs on to hope of playing finals in Essendon District Football League
AIRPORT West coach Adam Contessa has conceded every game for the remainder of the season will be “cutthroat” for his side despite the Eagles chalking up another win on Saturday.
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AIRPORT West coach Adam Contessa has conceded every game for the remainder of the season will be “cutthroat” for his side despite the Eagles chalking up another win on Saturday.
Finalists last year, Airport West reached the halfway point of the season in sixth spot on the Essendon District Football League Premier Division ladder with a 5-4 record after taking down Pascoe Vale by 14 points on Saturday.
The Eagles had led the home contest by 61 points at half-time but dropped off significantly in the second half as the Panthers gradually clawed back the margin.
What could have been a percentage-boosting victory did little to improve the Eagles’ percentage in the end, which climbed just two points to 93.39.
Airport West’s percentage remains more than 10 points worse than the next lowest of the competition’s top-six sides, something which could prove a major problem for Contessa and his side when the pointy end of the season comes around.
“At half-time it looked like we had an opportunity to really boost that percentage but it wasn’t to be,” the coach said.
“It’s going to make it really tough for us in the run home because we’re going to have to peg one game back on everyone else because of the percentages of everyone else ahead of us.”
Aaron Sweet continued his run of fine form with another big game through the middle for the Eagles in Saturday’s win, while Gavin Urquhart (three goals) and star forward Marcus Kenny (five goals) were also solid.
Airport West will face a fourth-placed Keilor side coming off back-to-back losses this week in what shapes as a genuine eight-point game for the Eagles.
“It’s a must-win for us,” Contessa said.
“We’ll both be on 24 points if we get the job done. But if we drop it, it’s going to mean we’re going to have to win seven or eight out of the last eight games. So they’re all pretty much cutthroat from here on in.”
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